OATCG 12

Chapter 12

The play rehearsals moved forward step by step.

Strictly speaking, maybe it would be more accurate to call it “getting Kim Sun-woo ready,” rather than preparing the play itself.

Because, except for him — who had joined midway — everyone else was already prepared.

It would be a lie to say he didn’t feel any pressure.

He didn’t have much time. He didn’t have much experience.

“This really is a poisoned chalice.”

A week was hardly enough time to prepare for just one role.

All the more so when you had zero stage experience, like Sun-woo.

There was no helping it.

If you don’t have time, you just have to slice that little time you have into as many pieces as possible.

Other than when he slept, Sun-woo poured everything into practice.

Whenever someone had spare time, he’d ask them to run lines with him — and if literally no one could, he’d practice alone.

Fortunately, it seemed people didn’t view his effort in a bad light.

At first, quite a few people looked at him with some reluctance, even annoyance — but lately, even those people had started greeting him back.

It was an encouraging change.

And among those changes, the biggest one was…

“Want some?”

Sun-woo turned his head. Do-young was holding out a sports drink to him.

“Ah — thank you.”

“You’re doing well.”

Do-young gave Sun-woo a light tap on the shoulder.

“Tired?”

“No, I’m totally fine.”

Honestly, he was tired.

But how many jobs in this world aren’t tough?

So he put on a brave face.

“I don’t usually say things like this, but — personally, I like your acting.”

A completely unexpected compliment came from Do-young.

Sun-woo blinked, eyes round.

“…Sorry?”

“I’m just saying. Felt like telling you at least once.”

“Oh… th-thank you.”

And with that, Do-young walked away.

Sun-woo stared blankly at his back for a moment, then let out a faint laugh.

“Well… I achieved my goal.”

Even when standing in front of Do-young, not losing his own color.

That was the one goal Sun-woo had.

Put simply, he didn’t want to get swallowed up by Do-young’s acting.

So — was he confident about the performance?

Of course…

It was hot.

Maybe global warming really was getting worse — even though she’d stuck to the shade the whole way, her clothes were already sweaty and sticky.

The iced Americano she’d bought had melted to lukewarm water.

Dasol fanned herself weakly, looking like she might melt any moment.

“In this OTT era, who even goes to see plays anymore…”

“Just trust me! You’re gonna see a whole new world.”

“I’m fine living in the old world…”

Even in this insane heat, she’d been dragged all the way here — by her older sister, Dayeon.

While Dasol was lazily spending her day off, Dayeon had suddenly burst in and insisted they go see a play.

“There’s this actor — he’s unreal!”

“If he’s that unreal, why’s he doing theater?”

“That’s exactly why we should go! He could totally become a top star someday. And then you won’t be able to see him up close like this.”

Top star, huh.

Dasol sighed, unimpressed.

Honestly, she wasn’t expecting much.

Half the time even TV actors felt awkward and bad to watch — so surely the tiny Daehak-ro theater scene would be worse.

Well… she’d watch it, then complain later.

It would’ve been nice if she didn’t have to complain at all — but since she was dragged here, nothing she could do.

She folded her arms, expression flat — and Dayeon let out a small sigh.

“Ah — what a shame, though. The actor playing Seung-do got changed.”

“…Seung-do? Not that, like, super popular one?”

“Yeah. He was good, but apparently he had a scheduling conflict.”

“Huh~ You really know your stuff.”

“I even follow the troupe’s official socials! Hmph.”

Do you really need to follow them?

As they took their seats, Dasol glanced around.

There were way more people than she’d expected. The theater had to have hundreds of seats — and it was almost full.

Is this normal on weekends? She had no idea — she’d never been to a play before.

Meanwhile, watching her, Dayeon was secretly annoyed.

It had been so hard to get these front-row seats… but soon, her little sister would understand exactly why she’d made such a fuss.

Cheongsong is the best.

If there was one flaw in the Daehak-ro theater scene, it was the wildly uneven acting.

The bar to get into a troupe wasn’t always high.

But Cheongsong was different.

From leads to minor extras — everyone was solid.

The timing, emotion, even appearance — everything was above average.

And among Cheongsong’s cast members, there was one man who had become the talk of the town.

If she saw Do-young oppa, she wouldn’t be sitting there with that bored look.

The memory of the first time Dayeon saw him was still crystal clear.

It was like the world suddenly switched to 4K — no, 8K.

Was it just because he was handsome? Sure, that was part of it.

But that wasn’t everything.

Do-young’s acting had a strange pull — something that forced your whole being to focus.

All distractions vanished.

All you could see was him.

The first day she saw him perform, Dayeon fell completely for Cha Do-young.

She had been faithfully visiting Cheongsong for a year now.

And that first play she saw back then — was Confession.

A play where you could experience every facet of Do-young’s charm.

Today, she’d come to recruit a new fan — her little sister.

Because that’s what sisters do: share good things.

If only Eunseok were still playing Seung-do.

That was the one regret.

But she wasn’t worried.

This was Cheongsong.

Whoever took the role would at least be good.

Soon, Dasol would fall in love — with Cheongsong… and with Do-young.

Of course, Dasol had no idea what sort of scheming was going on in her sister’s mind.

Right now, she only had two thoughts:

It’s hot.

What should we eat after?

But her indifferent mood didn’t last long.

“Confess your sins.”

The actor dressed as a priest appeared on stage — and he was… simply unreal.

Not “handsome.” That word didn’t even begin to cover it.

How should she describe it?

Maybe… an awe-inspiring face.

Even without Dayeon nudging her, Dasol instantly realized:

Ah. This is the guy.

He was unmistakable — the kind of person you recognized at a glance.

His looks, his presence… It almost felt like he wasn’t even the same species.

Just seeing him, she finally understood why Dayeon had dragged her here.

…Yeah. He’s something else.

Dasol admitted it honestly.

Coming out in this heat might actually have been worth it.

That face. That acting.

She had never seen anything like it in person before.

And she was sitting in the front row?

How many times in life do you get to experience that?

The play itself was interesting, too.

People come to confess their sins; the priest judges them and leads them toward repentance.

The only problem was…

He’s too overwhelming.

Because of him, she barely noticed anyone else.

And honestly, she couldn’t blame them.

Who wouldn’t get overshadowed?

His acting — the role itself — everything revolved around the priest. The whole production felt tailored around him.

So that was what she thought — until that man appeared.

“You’re not here to confess a sin. You’re here to announce one.”

“…I’m going to kill someone.”

The moment the man stepped onto the stage — Dasol’s perception shifted.

…Huh?

He radiated something dangerous.

Like someone filled with cold fury — capable of tearing the world apart at any moment.

He just felt different.

“I’m going to kill the person who murdered my family. So — what punishment will you give me?”

“…”

“How… will you punish me?”

Thump.

Dasol’s heart started pounding.

Until now, the priest had seemed like the blazing sun.

Absolute. Untouchable.

“I do not punish sins that have not yet been committed.”

“…I understand.”

But this man — Seung-do — was a shadow.

“I’ll commit the sin. Then I’ll come back.”

“Wait—!”

The brighter the sun, the longer and darker the shadow.

Maybe because she’d been staring at the sun all this time… Dasol suddenly couldn’t take her eyes off the shadow.

Unlike the oppressive glow of the priest, the shadow felt easier to look at — and somehow… pitiful.

Seung-do left.

The priest mourned his departure — lamenting.

And only then did Dasol realize something strange.

Just moments earlier, she’d thought the priest was all she could see. But now, even with him standing alone on stage…

Her mind was full of someone else.

Seung-do.

That dark, dangerous man.

Why? How?

No — she knew why.

That unstable, perilous aura — it made her grit her teeth from how compelling it was.

For an instant, she forgot about the priest entirely.

Maybe that’s why —

When the lights suddenly went dark, and then came back to reveal Seung-do — drenched in blood —

“I’ve returned, Father.”

And when she saw that twisted, broken smile on his lips—

“Will you punish me now?”

Her whole body broke out in goosebumps.

And in that moment, Dasol thought:

Just like her sister…

She would probably keep coming back here.

She might become that man’s fan — whether she wanted to or not.